oculomotor nerve

noun

: either of the pair of chiefly motor nerves that comprise the third pair of cranial nerves, arise from the midbrain, and supply four muscles of the eye

Examples of oculomotor nerve in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The nerve that controlled the eyelid, called the oculomotor nerve, was the third in this column. —New York Times, 4 Mar. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1861, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

oculomotor nerve

noun

: either nerve of the third pair of cranial nerves that are motor nerves with some associated autonomic fibers, arise from the midbrain, supply muscles of the eye except the superior oblique and the lateral rectus with motor fibers, and supply the ciliary body and iris with autonomic fibers by way of the ciliary ganglion

called also third cranial nerve